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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

The enduring memories of our childhoods oftencome back to haunt us, that of cabbage being boiled for hours and the kitchen smelling of sulphur and a grey soggy mess appearing on the plate.We would be served this unpleasant texture one night, stir fried the next night and then even in the school lunch box the next day if it was not consumed (and mums and dads wonder why it is not consumed!).We were told as children it wouldkeep our hair shiny (and?) and if we did not eat all of our vege we would not get any pud (we did not have pudding very often then)

It is a common fact known to the Greeks, that grape vines, source of wine, do not flourish when grown near cabbage. The Greeks converted this agricultural knowledge to myth, the myth told of the god of wine, Dionysus, who wandered to Thrace accompanied by his loyal followers . Threatened by Dionysus arrival, Lycurgus captured both Dionysus and all the Bacchae.To revenge this action, Dionysus had Lycurgus driven mad.Not in his right mine, Lycurgus mistook his son for a vine and cut his son to pieces. Learning what he had done, Lycurgus wept, and from the tears that fell to the ground sprang cabbage.

It is interesting that the Egyptian Pharaoh used to consume immense quantities of cabbage before setting out for a night of merriment and drinking. They believed that consuming the cabbage gives them freedom to drink more alcoholic beverages without fear of its adverse side effects. This ideology still stands today, with people still practicing the use of cabbage cooked with a bit of vinegar as a cure for hangovers.

This may explain why Alister sells so many cabbages at the market, it could explain why my hair is not shiny and it could be the reason why there are not many cabbage growers in the Marlborough region.It could just explain that while you cant force little kids to eat their cabbage the first night the fear of getting it as left over three days in a row is far greater than any smack as part of good parental correction

BRAISED RED CABBAGE

200GONIONS (THINLY SLICED)

1TBSPCRUSHED GARLIC

800GRED CABBAGE

200GBROWN SUGAR

200MLSWHITE WINE VINEGAR

200MLSRED WINE

1TBSPSALT

1TSPBLACK PEPPER

METHOD:

THINLY SLICE RED CABBAGE REMOVING ANY THICK STALKS - PUT ALL INGREDIENTS INTO STAINLESS STEEL POT AND BRING TO THE BOIL - REDUCE TO A SIMMER FOR 45 MINUTES UNTIL THE LIQUID HAS REDUCED